Russian air defense may have shot down its own plane.
A Russian fighter jet has fallen into the sea off the coast of the Crimean peninsula, says the Russian-appointed governor of Sevastopol Mikhail Razvozhaev on his Telegram account. According to the governor, the pilot was successfully rescued and the fall caused no damage to civilian objects.
According to the Reuters news agency, Russian Telegram channels had already reported before the governor’s statement that a Russian fighter jet had fallen near Sevastopol. So far, it is not clear what caused the fall, and Razvožayev did not mention it either.
Videos of a flaming plane falling from the sky have gone viral on social media. In some video images, the plane’s pilot apparently floats down with a parachute.
– (Ejection seat) launched the pilot out of the plane. Employees of the Sevastopol rescue service picked him up 200 meters from the shore. His life is not in danger, the governor said.
Ukraine did not comment
Ukrainian site Kyiv Independent according to Crimea’s local social media channels, there have been claims that Russia’s own forces shot down the plane by accident. There have also been varying assessments of the type of fighter on the websites. According to various sources, it was a Su-27 plane, according to others, it was a Su-35.
So far, Ukrainian authorities have not commented on the claims, which could not be confirmed by independent sources.
The main base of the Russian Black Sea Fleet is located in Sevastopol, in the Russian-occupied Crimean region. Ukraine has struck there several times during Russia’s more than two-year war of aggression.
According to its own words, Ukraine has managed to shoot down more than 300 Russian fighter jets and more than 300 military helicopters during the war, reported the BBC at the end of February. However, the figures could not be confirmed by independent sources.
Source: Reuters